By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Hapoel Tel Aviv will host Partizan this Wednesday in Sofia in the seventh round of the EuroLeague, which is also an opportunity for three great friends to gather in the same place — Zeljko Obradovic, Dimitris Itoudis, and Manos Papadopoulos.
Manos may not be that well known to the basketball public outside Greece, but he was one of the most important people in building the Panathinaikos empire at the start of the 21st century. Ahead of the game in Sofia, Papadopulos gave an interview to Meridian Sport.
“I’m happy here. This is a very friendly country. Of course, things would be better for us if we were in Tel Aviv — better for our fans, for us because we wouldn’t have to travel so much…”
From the youth categories, where he started as a manager, to the heights of five-time European champions with Zeljko Obradovic, as the man responsible for… Everything! At that time, there was no general manager position in European basketball, but he was exactly that.
“It’s very hard for me. I always say that I have brothers in basketball. Two brothers. Zeljko and Dimitris. We were together for 13 years on the same team, Zeljko, Dimitris, and me. The best team in basketball history! That was the greatest thing all of us took from those years.”
He also added his opinion on the best team ever:
“The one from 2009. If I gave you 100 million euros today, you couldn’t build such a roster. Because we had the best players in Europe — and not just the best at that moment. Some of them were the greatest basketball players of all time! And, of course, we had the best coach, the best assistants, the best fans… Everything was the best.”
He also talked about Vasilije Micic, Hapoel’s most expensive signing this season:
“There were a lot of rumors about him, but I believed in him. And now I’m sure! Everything else is just a matter of better physical condition. And he’s getting in better shape every day. What he has is very hard to find in Europe right now. Great personality, high level. He will be one of the best EuroLeague players this season.”
After Panathinaikos and before Hapoel, Manos also worked at Zenit Saint Petersburg.